Topic: iTunes Store

Though Apple and record labels abandoned digital rights management protection in iTunes Store music purchases years ago, an antitrust lawsuit on the matter first filed in 2005 is set to go to trial this week.

Sales from Apple's iTunes Store have fallen significantly thus far in 2014, helping to push forward the company's alleged plans to revamp the recently acquired Beats Music and make it part of the iTunes brand.

Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue on Thursday said U2's "Songs of Innocence," which was offered for free to iTunes users, has been downloaded 26 million times since its release on Sept. 9.

Apple on Monday denied rumors that it is planning to shut down the Beats Music subscription service, but a new report claims the company is looking into a branding change to more closely align the property with other first-party offerings.

U2's new collaboration with Apple appears to run deeper than the recent exclusive release of the band's new Songs of Innocence album on iTunes, as the Irish rockers are said to be working alongside the iPhone maker to create a new digital music format.

With hordes of iTunes customers loudly voicing their displeasure at having received 22-time Grammy-award-winning rock group U2's latest album for free in recent days, Apple responded to the cacophony on Monday with a new single-purpose web portal that will allow disgruntled users to remove the album from their iTunes accounts.

More than 2 million copies of Irish rock band U2's new "Songs of Innocence" album have reportedly been downloaded through Apple's iTunes Music Store since the record's release earlier this week, enough to push it over the threshold for "double platinum" status, and have driven strong sales of U2's previous discography.

For iTunes Store customers who purchase content via discount season passes, Apple has begun sending native push notifications in the latest beta of iOS 8 when new content is available -- a change from its previous email alerts.

Apple on Thursday began offering customers in the U.S. and elsewhere the ability to replenish their iTunes Store credit through its Passbook digital wallet application for iPhone when visiting an Apple Store. AppleInsider offers a first look at how it works.

The latest data from Nielsen shows that sales of digital albums are down 11.6 percent, while purchases of individual tracks are down 13 percent, as on-demand streaming audio has surged 50.1 percent, helping to provide some insight into why Apple purchased Beats Music.

When recent reports suggested Apple was considering bringing iTunes to Android to help boost flagging music sales, skeptics scoffed at the thought of the iPhone maker supporting a competing platform. But with its $3 billion purchase of Beats, Apple has now revealed it plans to keep the Beats Music subscription apps alive not only on Google's Android, but also Microsoft's Windows Phone.

Apple's newly announced $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics has received a generally warm response from prominent analysts on Wall Street, who believe the purchase could help Apple compensate for shrinking digital music sales on the iTunes Store.

While Beats may be best known for its headphones, Apple made it clear in announcing its $3 billion acquisition of the company on Wednesday that its real interest lies in the subscription Beats Music streaming service, which will complement Apple's existing iTunes offerings.

Facing significant declines in digital music sales, Apple is reportedly plotting a potential overhaul of its iTunes Music Store, in addition to considering new revenue opportunities through on-demand streaming and even allegedly an iTunes for Android.

iTunes content and the App Store are projected to be key drivers of growth for Apple moving forward, with one new forecast calling for content and apps alone to account for 20 percent of profits by 2020.

The servers of video game publisher Electronic Arts have apparently been compromised, with a new phishing page set up with the intend of stealing Apple ID usernames, passwords, and credit card information.

With 2013 drawing to a close, day six of Apple's "12 Days of Gifts" is an appropriately timed free "New Years Eve Mix" from Swedish DJ Avicii, including a track and a music video for both U.S. and U.K. users.